Street-car indicator.



L. A FAVRE.

STREET cm INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-l5. I915- 1,276,889. Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

LIA. FAVRE.

STREET CAR INDICATOR. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15' 1915- Patented Aug. 27,1918.

SHEEI Z.

2 SHEETS LYLE A. FAVRE, OF GREY EAGLE, MINNESOTA.

STREET-CAR INDICATOR.

Application filed November 15, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LYLE A. FAVRE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grey Eagle, in the county of Todd and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Car Indicators; and I do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in street car indicators.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of street car indicators and to provide a simple, practical and comparatively inexpensive device adapted to be readily installed in street cars and capable of designating the names of the streets, avenues, and other thoroughfares as the'car approaches the same and of also enabling passengers to readily see how far they are from their destination.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a street car indicator of this character equipped with operating mechanism arranged within easy reach of the conductor so that it may be convenient to operate by either conductor or motorman.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claim hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a car provided with a street car indicator constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View of the same on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4c is a horizontal sectional view,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional View illustrating the construction of the operating mechanism for actuating the tape,

Fig. 6 is a detail View illustrating the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

Serial No. 61,607.

means for securing the ends of the tape together,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view through the casing in which the name of the street is exposed,

Fig. 8 is a detail view of one of the tightener pulleys.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings. In the accompanying drawings in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates an endless band designed to consist of a steel tape but it may be constructed of any other suitable material as will be readily understood and the said band 1 which has stamped or otherwise marked thereon the names of the streets, avenues and other thoroughfares traversed by the car along its route, extends around the interior of the car along the side walls 2 and across the end walls 3 of a car 4: as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The end 5 and 6 of the tape are preferably secured together by a fastening device consisting of loops 7 carried by one of the parts and hooks 8 mounted on the other end of the tape and engaging the loop 7 asclearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings but any other suitable means may of course be employed for attaching or connecting the ends of the tape. The endless band is arranged on vertically disposed corner pulleys 9 and intermediate pulleys 10 disposed at suitable intervals and the corner pulleys which operate as belt tighteners are adjustably mounted in brackets 11 having adjusting screws 12 adapted to force the tightener rollers or pulleys .to- Ward the corners of the car to stretch the endless band and take up any slack therein. Any other suitable form of belt tightener may of course be employed. The side or intermediate pulleys 10 are mounted in suitable brackets 13 which may beof any desired construction.

The endless band extends through a cas ing 14: arranged centrally of one side of the car and having an opening 15 for exposing the name of the street or avenue approached by the car but instead of mounting the casing 14 centrally of one side it may be located at either end of the same and the end guiding pulleys 16 which are construeted similar to the intermediate side guiding pulleys 10 may be located at one side of the center or dispensed with as any suitable number of guiding pulleys may of course be employed.

The casing preferably consists of a body portion having a groove 17 extending horizontally from one end of the casing to the ther and receiving and guiding the endless band which is retained in the groove or guide by a front plate 18 secured to the body portion of the casing by suitable fastening devices and havingthe said opening 15. The opening 15 is of sufficient size to expose the name of a street or avenue of the band and the passengers will be able not only to ascertain the name of the next street or avcnne but the distance they are from their points destination. This will not only be a reat convenience to the passengers especially those unfamiliar with the names of the streets of a city but will also save much time of the conductor and motornan of the car and avoid answering questions thereby enabling the motorman and conductor to give their entire attention to the operation of the car and the collecting of fares.

The endless band is adapted to be operated from either end of the car and from either the interior or exterior thereof by either the motorman or the conductor by an operating device comprising a bracket or brackets 19 secured to the ends of the car at the interior thereof and provided with bearings 20 and slots 21 for the icception of a shaft 22 of a roller 3' and slid-able blocks or bearings 24 of a coacting roller 25. The blocks or bearings 2- which receive the terminal portions of a shaft 26 upon which the roller is mounted are engaged by coiled springs 27 which are operated by adjusting screws 28 mounted in the upper and lower portions of the brackets at the outer ends of the slots 21 as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

The adjusting screws are adapted to compress the springs to place the outer roller 25 under pressure for yieldably clamping the endless band between the rollers 23 and 25. The shafts of the rollers are preferably connected by gears 25) which have their teeth sufficiently spaced to permit a slight adjustment of the rollers 2:, only a very small. amount of movement being necessary as the endless band is r lativel thin. The rollers 23 and 25 which are preferably constructed of rubber may be made of any other suitable material and the upper and lower portions of the brackets are connected by an outer vertical portion 30 but any other desired form of bracket may of course be employed and the bottom portion of the bracket is provided with a depending arm 31, having a bearing 32 at its lower end for the recepi'ion of a horizontal operating shaft 33. The operating shaft 33 which extends through the end wall of the car is connected by bevel gearing 3% with the vertical shaft and the latter extends below the vertical gearing as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The horizontal operating shaft and the extended portions of the shafts are equipped with crank handles and 3G by means of which the device is operated for rotating the band actuating rollers. By this arrangement the band may be actuated from either the interior or the exterior of the car by either the motorinan or conductor.

hat is claimed is:

In a street car indicator, the combination with a car, of an endless band extending around the interior of the car and provided with the names of streets or thoroughfares traversed by the car in its route, means for guiding the endless band, and means for actuating the same comprising a bearing bracket mounted on the car interiorly thereof and having spaced horizontal projecting portions extending above and below the band and provided with slots. said bracket being also provided with 11 depending arm, vertical rollers located at opposite faces of the band and provided with shafts, one of the shafts operating in the said slots and the other shaft b'eing j ournaled in the said horizontal portions of the bearing bracket and depending therefrom in parallelism With the depending arm of the bracket, adjustable means yieldably urging the shaft operating in the slot to maintain the rollers in frictional engagement with the band, a horizontal shaft journalcd in the said depending arm and extending exteriorly of the car, gears mounted on the extended shaft and the horizontal shaft and meshing with each other, and operating means connected with the horizontal shaft and arranged c-xteriorly of the car.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LYLE A. FAVE l1.

Witnesses I RAYMOND A. LEE? GEORGE Lyon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

